When it comes to managers, Liverpool Football Club has had more than a few decent ones. Names like Kenny Dalglish, Bob Paisley, and Rafa Benítez will long be loved by supporters thanks to the fact that they won major trophies with the Reds, which is something that Jürgen Klopp was also able to achieve.
The fact that Klopp took Liverpool back to the top of the English game after years in the wilderness earned him comparisons with Bill Shankly, but that isn’t the only thing that the enigmatic German has in common with his Scottish counterpart.
One of Shankly’s strongest skills is that he was a brilliant communicator, being able to get his message across to players, supporters, and the people at the top of the club courtesy of a brilliant wit and a desire to cut straight to the point. That is a skill that Jürgen Klopp also mastered, which is why many people feel that he was the natural heir to Shankly at Anfield.
There was also a hope that Arne Slot could go on to become the successor to him that Paisley was to Shanks, but that remains to be seen. Here is a look at some of Klopp’s best LFC-themed quotes:
From Doubters to Believers
Ask anyone for a quote from Bill Shankly that epitomises the man, and the one that they would likely point you towards was his comment on football being a ‘matter of life and death’.
When it comes to Jürgen Klopp, though, it is one of the quotes that he gave during his first official interview with the club that most would quote. It is fair to say that the Reds were in something of a slump when the former Borussia Dortmund man arrived at Anfield, with no one around the place feeling as though the club could once again hit the big time.
It was Klopp’s quote about belief that began to turn the tide on the front, though. He said:
A message to those Liverpool supporters? We have to change from doubter to believer – now.
Doubter to believer. pic.twitter.com/PTWb094oNB
— José (@Joseph_Ellis9) February 2, 2020
Given the number of huge turnarounds that occurred at Anfield during the German’s reign, it’s fair to say that they achieved exactly that. The match against Borussia Dortmund, Klopp’s former club, during his first season at the helm, having replaced Brendan Rodgers, proved as much.
The 4-0 win over Barcelona after being 3-0 down from the first leg in the Champions League cemented it. He harnessed the power of Anfield, giving supporters pride back in the club that they love.
The Normal One
If it wasn’t to be the ‘doubter to believer’ quote that people would turn to for a summary of Jürgen Klopp, then perhaps it was the one he gave during his first official press conference as Liverpool’s new manager. He was asked about José Mourinho calling himself the ‘Special One’ when he was appointed as the Chelsea manager and said:
Does anyone in this room think that I can do wonders? I’m a normal guy from the Black Forest…My mother is very proud…I am the Normal One, if you want this!
@skysports ON THIS DAY: In 2015, Jurgen Klopp became Liverpool manager, and announced himself to the Premier League as ‘the normal one’ 🤩🔴#liverpool #premierleague #jurgenklopp ♬ original sound – Sky Sports
Cue the football club launching countless bits of merchandise and memorabilia with ‘the Normal One’ written on it in large letters, often alongside a baseball cap and a pair of glasses. Even when Klopp got laser eye surgery and the glasses were no longer there, everyone knew exactly who you were talking about if you made reference to someone being ‘the Normal One’.
It’s a Big Heart
It has already been referenced, but the match against Barcelona in 2019 will go down as one of the very best in the history of Liverpool Football Club. The Reds had performed well in Spain and yet somehow still ended up losing 3-0 at the Camp Nou. Turning things around looked like it would be impossible, with the fact that Manchester City had beaten Leicester City in the Premier League meaning that the title was all but gone too.
GOAL! LIVERPOOL 4-0 BARCELONA-AGG: 4-3 (Origi, 79) OMG! Liverpool have caught Barcelona napping and the comeback is complete! Barcelona are fast asleep at a corner and Alexander-Arnold and Origi take full advantage! Alexander-Arnold almost walks away from the corner but he spots Origi totally free.
Liverpool needed a big result, and when Liverpool needs a big result, then Anfield will usually deliver. So it was that the Reds won 4-0, stopping a team filled with names such as Lionel Messi and former player Luis Suarez from getting on the scoresheet. The manager summed it up best afterwards when he said:
We know this club is the mix of atmosphere, emotion, desire, and football quality. Cut off one, and it doesn’t work – we know that. I’ve said it before. If I have to describe this club, then it’s a big heart, and tonight it was obviously like crazy, pounding like crazy. You could hear it and probably feel it all over the world.
Let’s Talk About Six
One of Klopp’s key strengths as Liverpool manager was his ability to neatly encapsulate what many of the supporters were thinking at any given moment. Having defeated Barcelona in such a spectacular manner, the Reds then needed to get past Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final in order to win the trophy, having lost in the final the previous year to Real Madrid.
Liverpool won 2-0, winning the European Cup for the sixth time in the club’s history. Klopp, knowing the club’s past as well as anyone, summed up the feelings of so many when he said:
Let’s talk about six, baby, let’s talk about you and me, let’s talk about all the good things and all the bad things there may be. Where are the drinks?!
A Special Club
There is always a risk that Liverpool supporters are going to be accused of Scouse exceptionalism when they talk about how special the Reds are. The truth is, though, that it is a real thing. Winning means more than it does to a lot of other clubs because it hasn’t been achieved by being owned by a nation-state, but rather through intelligent recruitment, hard work, and brilliant management.
Jürgen Klopp: “This is the best club in the world – I don’t care what other people think!” pic.twitter.com/TZM6Xj7loi
— James Carroll (@James_Carroll84) May 29, 2022
As a result, Liverpool fans can come across as arrogant, and those that don’t know the city, usually having never visited it, can have an opinion on both Liverpool FC and the city itself that is based on the stereotypes of the 1990s. Jürgen Klopp, though, knew how to cut right through such nonsense. When the Reds missed out on the Premier League title to Manchester City at the end of the 2021-2022 campaign, the German said:
If people outside don’t understand how special this club is, I can’t help them. If you want to have a club with real passion, where you can be really involved from the heart as well and not only from other things, then you have to be part of Liverpool.
It was an excellent summation of all things Liverpool, whilst he went one step further during the parade to celebrate the League Cup and FA Cup wins, saying:
This is the best club in the world, [I] don’t care what other people think.
The Best People in the World
Another way in which Scouse exceptionalism is an accusation that can be levelled at the people of Liverpool is in thinking that they are special when compared to others. The other of ‘Scouse, not English’ comes from years of being put down and oppressed by those from other parts of the country, with many Scousers believing that the city is brilliant and that the people are amongst the best in the world.
As someone from outside of the city, especially one that had previously managed at two clubs that boosted You’ll Never Walk Alone as the club anthem, Klopp was perhaps better-placed than most to know how brilliant a place it is to live and spend time. He summed this up when he spoke at Anfield after his last game as the Liverpool manager and said:
I’m one of you now. I love you to bits. On my jumper is ‘Thank you Luv’ and ‘I will never walk alone again’. Thank you for that! You are the best people in the world. Thank you!
